Walk - the mother of all gaits

This weekend I teached at a clinic in Piteå. There were 10 riders who rode one lesson each Saturday and Sunday. It was a mixed group, ranging from beginners to those I have followed for many years. The youngest participant was 10 years old and started riding with me in Stockholm this past winter and we have focused on seat training in walk and trot. Ronja trotted and steered the horse all by her self for the first time in the clinic and was mighty proud of the achievement! For me it is a privilege to follow her development. Thanks to the seat training Ronja could ride her horse in trot without hanging in the horse's mouth or lose adherence in the saddle. Nice job Ronja!

But, what I mainly want to address in this blog is the walk. I sometimes get the question if riders do anything else than walk when riding with me. Well, yes. In this clinic, there were several participants who practiced transitions between walk, trot and canter, and flexions in trot and canter. But I see no advantage for either the horse or rider to start adding speed if not both rider and horse have the basic understanding of communication (that is the aids), and proper balance and posture. And it's not for nothing that the walk is called "the mother of all gaits".

The walk is the one gait that is most easily influenced by the rider. Modern research has shown this. Perhaps that is the reason that in traditional dressage it is said that you should not work the horse at the walk, since this will destroy it. That is not true. It all comes down to how the rider uses his/hers hands and what is perceived as a good "support".

If the rider uses his/hers hands backwards the horse will most likely hang on the bit. The horse can do this either by leaning with his weight forward, or use the muscles in the neck to push on the bit. When this happens, the walk will deteriorate. The same will happen to the trot and the canter, but it will not show as clearly.

Returning to the horse, which hangs or push on the bit. In the first case the horse must be made to balance himself and in the other the horse must be made to relax the neck muscles. The key to the solution for both problems is how the rider uses his/hers hands. The half halt (raising and lowering of the hand) re balances the horse and vibration will loosen the tense muscles.

In order not to invite the horse to lean or hang on the bit again, the rider have to follow and allow the natural oscillation of the horse's neck. If not the walk will deteriorate and in the worst case the horse will start to pace. This is where the rider's idea of what a good "support" is will be important. The contact between the horse's mouth and the rider's hands should not be much more than weight of the rein. Any more than that means the two are hanging on each other, which does not just make it hard for the rider's arms, it also means that the horse does not have a good posture.

The horse's posture is most readily seen when the horse is standing still. Look at the feet. Imagine that you look down at your horse from above. Usually the horse stands uneven. "Square" means that the horse's feet are evenly spaced so it formed a square rectangle. When it does, the horse have the beginning for a correct posture, i.e. the spine is straight seen from above.

When the horse is in motion and the hind feet track directly behind the front (which corresponds to the horse being "square" but in motion) AND also has the proper rising in the neck corresponding to its degree of education, AND is light in the hand. Well, then the horse is virtually guaranteed in good posture and balance. What you feel as a rider is that the horse in motion is as easy to turn to the right as the left, can do right shoulder in as easy as left, will back up straight, etc. It is a proof of good balance and posture that the horse can easily carry out whatever you ask. For both horse and rider, it is easier to find those good posture and balance in walk than trot or canter. The walk is the only gait in which both rider and horse have time to really explore and find good balance and posture. When the foundation is laid, trot and canter is not a big problem, but to train the trot and canter before the basics are in place is just a long detour back to the start and a waste of time even if it feels like you have trained when you merely exercised the horse.

Classical dressage is not primarily about fitness, but practicing posture and balance.